*
Mother in law was advised last week that she needed hip replacement. Surgery is scheduled for the end of next month.
Went down last weekend and replaced her toilet with a taller model. Added grab rails and raised the bed 4″.
Need to go back down in a couple of weeks to add some railings on her stairs.
Question is what else is needed to make it easier for her to get around after surgery? Has anyone gone through it that you know, if so what were some of the obstacles in the house?
Ideas?
Thanks in advance.
Scott
Replies
*
Sounds like you are off to a good start. TLC should be high on the list. My mom had a hip replacement a few yrs ago. She was early 50s, and was informed that she may want to wait because having the surgery at her age ment she would likely need another in her lifetime. I told her to hell with suffering through her good yrs, get it done and worry about the rework if and when the time comes. She recovered in about 6wks and is still doing fine. She is enjoying her life and glad she took my advice.
*Suggest you analyze moms routine and make provision - bathing, may be hard to get over the side of the tub - probably the most dangerous activity - my mom has a degenerative disease and we added a shower stall that she could be rolled into - overkill for this situation, but something to consider if your doing any serious bathroom remodeling - If the surgery goes well, she'll be able to return to normal activity quickly - see that she has maid-type help for as long as she wants it - I've got lots of customers with artificial knees and hips - 90% are very happy and wondered why they put it off - the 10% that complain generally have lived a life of no physical discomfort and sandbagged in physical therapy that follows the surgery - hope she appreciates a SIL that cares -
*check out her community elderly affairs..they may have a program like "meals on wheels" to bring her lunch until she's up and around... it will ease the logistics on you, too...
*Good idea, plus it'll get her to interacting with some new people if she doesn't already.
*My dad had a hip done a couple of years ago. He put his favorite chair up on blocks. About 3 inches. If I remembeer right the blocks are still on that chair. Also he got a picker upper (technical term) long handle extension with a finger release. He didn't have to bend down so much. And I think he could put on his socks! Good luck. He recovered pretty quickly. I think he was back riding his bike in about 6 weeks. I know it sounded too soon for me.
*A seat for the tub may be easier for showering and/or the hand held kind of shower head. Also grab bar of some kind in the tub and near the toilet. She may have precautions about how much she can bend at the hip at first, which is why raising the seat of chairs makes things easier. "Long sitting" with legs out straight, as in a lawn chair is an idea. Check with local Senior Citizens and Home Health folks, they may have equipment you can borrow. She may have doctor's orders for a few visits from the physical therapist, encourage her to do those exercises!
*After the surgery, Mom will need physical therapy before she leaves the hospital. Ask the therapist to come to her home, review it and tell you what else to do. My wife is a PT and does this for patients all the time. She comes up with stuff that no one else thinks of, usually very simple changes that make life much easier for the patient.SHG
*Thanks for all of the ideas.She has a walk in shower stall, so that'll help with bathing. I'll add a hand held shower head though and chair and grab rails.Raising the chair is a great idea, hadn't thought about that. Along with the picker up thing, technical term.Hopefully she'll recover quickly. She's in her 70's took up golf a half dozen years ago and kicks my butt every time we play. Hasn't been able to golf all year and She'd like to get back out and play.Thanks again and if anyone has any more ideas keep them coming.
*Scott, please make absolutely sure she needs the hip surgery. My mom, early 70's, was told she needed a hip replacement, but i asked one of my doc clients for a referral to a different orthopod, and that doc gave her a shot of cortisone in the joint. This was at least two years ago and she's had no trouble whatsoever since, hikes all the time, mows her large yard, etc. Just a thought, in case you hadn't gotten a second (or third) opinion yet...
*Splinter...Thanks,She'd done the cortizone last year, still has the problem. She's had several opinions and all lead to hip replacement. She's about as anti surgery as anyone I have ever met, if there was a way of fixing the problem without surgery she would have found it. She met with the surgeon last week and set the date. She's been active all of her life, competing into her 40's in track & field, volleyball and recently golf. Hopefully this will get her back to normal.Thanks for your concern,Scott
*I don't know if your mom is a great milk drinker, but there is a well-documented correlation between osteoporosis and dairy consumption despite what the "milk moustache" ads would have you believe. Here's a link about osteoporosis and calcium sources
*I had hip replacement last winter (construction site accident;the fall was OK,landing went poorly).All of the above is good advice.Re:chair height-an office-type chair is nice because you can adjust the height easily.The biggest problem is that you can't bend more than ninety degrees at the waist.Keep this in mind as you envision your mom's daily routines.It really hurts to slip,even if you don't fall,so eliminate any slick surfaces around her house.My mossy deck gets real slippery when it rains.Good luck to your mom.And you carpenters out there:BE CAREFUL!!
*Yup, remove all slippery scatter rugs and such. She might need to use a walker for partial weight bearing, they should get her up to have her walk at the hospital at least once before she leaves . If she has been that athletic she has a good chance of making a quick and good recovery. Uncomfortable, but it will get better.
*Find someone to pamper her at home, she won't be able to get up and down so fast, so a gopher to fetch things for her would be great, and doing all-out housework and so on will be curtailed to a large extent for a while. Get her favorite foods, books, mags, etc. to keep things interesting and to keep her happy. Having a great game of golf as a goal is going to be helpful!
*My wife's bouncing around with a broken foot at the moment (stupid trampoline injury).Nothing like good easy to get into seating to keep her happy. Get a good stool for the kitchen. If she can't work on longer projects like preparing something more than canned food, she will go squirrelly in no time.Stools should have casters that can be easily locked with a cane or crutch, so they can be moved and secured.Remember to move all important items to shelves that are reachable without bending or climbing. Look in every cupboard and on every shelf and put yourself in her shoes. You will quickly see how to make her life easier.If she was active before, she will hate to be pinned down.On the other hand, us couch potatoes will inherit the earth along with the cockroaches. ;-)
*
Mother in law was advised last week that she needed hip replacement. Surgery is scheduled for the end of next month.
Went down last weekend and replaced her toilet with a taller model. Added grab rails and raised the bed 4".
Need to go back down in a couple of weeks to add some railings on her stairs.
Question is what else is needed to make it easier for her to get around after surgery? Has anyone gone through it that you know, if so what were some of the obstacles in the house?
Ideas?
Thanks in advance.
Scott